Elizabeth Hazen Shares Her Tsundoku (Poetry books to Read)
In a new blog post, Elizabeth Hazen shares her tsundoku. Tsundoku is a Japanese word meaning "Acquiring reading materials but letting them pile up in one's home without reading them."
For Christmas, which seems like three lifetimes ago, my parents gave my husband a book of interesting words from around the world*. An engineer who has a soft spot for spoonerisms, puns, and wordplay in every form, he found instant delight in this book. Did you know that Germans have a word for the weight we gain from stress-eating? Kummerspeck. Or that the Scots have a word for that awkward pause when you’ve forgotten the name of the person you’re introducing? Tartle. Among my favorites are the whimsical Swedish smultronställe, a place of wild strawberries; the romantic Italian dormiveglia, the space between sleeping and waking; and the essential Japanese tsundoku, that pile of unread books on my bedside table that grows with each passing month.
Needless to say, I took that book of words from my husband, adding one more to my stack...
“Poetry in Motion.” An Introduction to Grace Cavalieri
Grace Cavalieri has been publishing poetry for over 50 years! But where did she start? And how? This article on the origins of Grace’s poetic career will asnwer just that question and more. This is part 1 of a weeklong series detailing Grace’s life and work as Poet Laureate of Maryland.
“Mind Grenades from a Broken Body” Richard Peabody’s Review of Miles’ Collected Poems
Full Title: “Mind Grenades From A Broken Body Or The Surreal Life of the Disciplined Spirit” In this loving tribute to a literary hero, Richard Peabody discusses Josephine Miles’ myriad contribution to the poetics of the mind.
“Princess Daddy” a Story by Richard Peabody
I am Princess Daddy complete with tiara and I’m en route to the Princess Planet with Twyla, my 3-year-old whirlwind of a daughter. She has constructed a spaceship out of wooden blocks to transport us. She’s wearing her purple tutu. “Where your tutu daddy?” Good question. One my wife wishes to remedy at the very next thrift sale. My Redskins T-shirt does clash a little with my silver tiara. I wonder just how the guys in section 114 will relate to me if I show up at FedEx dressed like this. Hogette in training?